Inside San Francisco (Feb 5th, 2018)

Tomorrow's forecast will be sunny skies with a high/low of 67/50 Fahrenheit. On Wednesday, expect sunny skies with a high/low of 69/50 Fahrenheit.

A 16-person task force has been assembled to explore the possibility of San Francisco's own public bank. The municipal bank would allow San Francisco to fund affordable housing development, service cannabis businesses, offer low-interest loans for low-income residents and circumvent Wall Street banks. The task force includes former Supervisor John Avalos, and representatives from the Association of Bay Area Governments, California Reinvestment Coalition, Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and Self-Help Federal Credit Union, among others. "I want more local control over how our public dollars are invested so that we can leverage our public resources better for the public good,” said Supervisor Sandra Fewer, who along with Supervisor Malia Cohen is pressuring the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector to launch a public bank. The Bank of North Dakota, founded in 1919, is currently the country's only public bank. - SFEXAMINER

Six people were injured in a Santa Rosa dump truck crash this morning. The incident took place at around 10am PT near Fountaingrove Parkway and Mendocino Avenue when a large truck plowed into several other cars. “The guy was really truckin’ - he looked like he might have lost control,” one witness told KPIX. Ten vehicles were involved in the collision and six people were transported to local hospitals, two with serious injuries. Westbound Fountaingrove Parkway near the Red Barn is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day. - KRON4

San Franciscans celebrated Emperor Norton's 200th birthday. A Gold Rush-era San Francisco character who called himself "Emperor Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico" remains legendary in the City by the Bay. (Perhaps you've seen tour guides dressed as him, complete with a feathered top hat and medal-covered military jacket.) Last night, fans and lookalikes gathered at Emperor Norton’s Boozeland bar in the Tenderloin to toast the famed eccentric. Norton died on January 8, 1880 at the corner of California and Grant Streets and almost 30,000 filled San Francisco's streets for his funeral. - KPIX

42 years ago today, San Francisco got five inches of snow. On February 5, 1976, the city's highest peaks saw a rare dusting of snow. The unusual weather incident stands in stark contrast to San Francisco's current and record-breaking heatwave. Snow has fallen in San Francisco only three times in the last 100 years. The average temperature for early February is 61 degrees. Temperatures this past weekend were in the 70s and the unseasonably warm weather is likely to continue throughout the week. "It's expected to remain dry until February 18 and potentially could go beyond that," predicted Roger Gass of the National Weather Service. - SFGATE

San Francisco Magazine has a cool feature on a pair who plan major parties in abandoned buildings. Jordan Langer and Peter Glikshtern, both longtime San Francisco nightlife fixtures, formed Non Plus Ultra to throw legal parties in unexpected and/or soon-to-be demolished spaces. “The cool thing about private developers is they generally let us do whatever we want with the buildings because they’re going to tear them down anyway,” Langer said. Their story is worth a read. - SFMAG

COMMUNITY NEWS: OAKLAND

Oakland police towed 30 cars and issued 147 citations after a sideshow near the intersection of High Street and Foothill Boulevard got out of hand early Sunday morning. A sideshow is an illegal mid-street event in which drivers perform dangerous stunts (like doughnuts) with cars before an assembled crowd. As authorities tried to break up the event, people threw glass bottles at officers and broke the windows of nearby businesses. This weekend's sideshow comes just a week after a Richmond police officer was seriously injured trying to break up a 50-car sideshow in Richmond. Two 18-year-olds rammed a car into an officer on foot. They were arrested the following day and face attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

Marijuana lobbyist Dorian Gray stands accused of attempting to bribe two Oakland officials in an attempt to get his client city cannabis dispensary permits. According to Oakland City Council President Larry Reid, Gray offered him $10,000 in cash - twice. “I told him, ‘Man, I don’t work that way.’ He actually had an envelope," Reid said. Gray is also accused of offering a city administrator a trip to Spain, a gesture that Gray described as an "informal tour." The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is investigating the incident and Gray's client was not among the businesses to receive a cannabis dispensary license.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Otis R. Taylor Jr. wrote a scathing column about Oakland councilwoman Desley Brooks titled, "Oakland City Council has its own Donald Trump." According to Taylor and numerous people connected with the Oakland City Council, Brook "exudes contempt" for those that disagree with her, speaks only to her base of supporters, and will likely cost the city $3 million in a legal settlement after Brooks pushed a 72-year-old former Black Panther leader over tables and chairs during an argument at Everett and Jones BBQ. “If you’re a representative of the city, you can’t go around knocking people out or talking down to people," said James Moore Jr., Brooks' opposition for her District Six seat in 2014. Brooks declined Taylor's request for an interview.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

Musical Mormons: "The Book of Mormon" opens tonight at the SHN Orpheum Theater. This nine-time Tony-winning musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word - and it comes from the folks that brought us "South Park." Performances run Tuesdays through Sundays until March 4 and tickets start at $60.

You're hilarious: Piano Fight is once again home to Open Improv. This no-hold barred improv comedy show has no rules and the entire audience gets to participate. Tomorrow night's free show runs from 7pm to 8:30pm PT and guests are asked to register online.

Berkeley brainiacs: Every Monday night, Spats on Shattuck hosts a lively game of trivia from 8pm to 10pm PT. Brush up on your current events, sports, and pop culture - and devour some brain-freezing boozy slushies to fuel your trivial knowledge.

San Franciscans celebrated Emperor Norton's 200th birthday. A Gold Rush-era San Francisco character who called himself "Emperor Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico" remains legendary in the City by the Bay. (Perhaps you've seen tour guides dressed as him, complete with a feathered top hat and medal-covered military jacket.) Last night, fans and lookalikes gathered at Emperor Norton’s Boozeland bar in the Tenderloin to toast the famed eccentric. Norton died on January 8, 1880 at the corner of California and Grant Streets and almost 30,000 filled San Francisco's streets for his funeral. - KPIX